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The tempest saw Mr Wheatley’s yacht, Tamarind, battered by 15m waves and 60-knot winds (69mph) – but he told Western Morning News he is “uninjured and in good spirits”.

The stranded yacht (Image: Mark Hurrell)

The luxury liner, which was travelling from Southampton to New York via Halifax, had to divert 100 miles to assist the yacht in distress.

(Image: Mark Hurrell)

Mr Hurrell’s son, Adam, said: “My parents, who were on board the ship, sent me an email to say they had received information, presumably through the ship’s Tannoy, that they were being diverted as part of a rescue mission.

A plane flies over the yacht during the rescue mission (Image: Mark Hurrell)

“They said it was exciting to witness – not that it was exciting for the poor chap involved because nobody wants to go down in the middle of the Atlantic.”